Kamaran Najm Ibrahim, a 27-year-old Iraqi photojournalist was shot while covering clashes between Kurdish forces and Islamist militants near the city of Kirkuk in Iraq today, Agence France-Presse reported.

Fourteen Kurdish security personnel were reportedly wounded in Thursday's attack during which Kurdish security forces took control of Kirkuk city after Iraqi army soldiers quit their posts, officials said.

In 2009, Ibrahim co-founded MetroGraphy, the first Iraqi photo agency. The agency now represents over 100 photographers across Iraq.

"They do daily life. They do everyday news. They're not only bombs. There's not only blood. There are other stories," Ibrahim said at a TEDxErbil event in January this year.

“As an Iraqi photographer based in Kurdistan, I cannot deny that we have [to shoot images of war]. We have to cover breaking news," Ibrahim said. "But, as a photographer I know that there are some kinds of other photos that we need to capture, there are some kinds of moments that we need to capture for the history of this country. I wondered where was the beauty?"

Tasneem Nashrulla is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.